How To Be An Interesting Person (Or All The Things I’d Like To Do When I Grow Up)

I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. I realize that at 27 I should probably have figured this out already, but what are you going to do? It does seem more and more that my peers have everything in their lives figured out while I consider folding laundry an accomplishment. (Of course, that’s after letting it sit in the basket, unfolded, for 3 weeks or so. It’s amazing Adam has stayed with me as long as he has.)

Anyway, it makes sense that if I’m going to write a blog about things I want to learn to do, I should probably have a list of things I want to try. So without further ado, here is:

All The Things I’ve Wanted To Try But Haven’t (Or Things I’ve Tried Before But Want To Try Again).

Hiking: I like the woods and I like hiking. It’s exercise (which I desperately need more of) but it doesn’t involve running or competition (which are two things I avoid at all costs). Every summer I promise myself that I’m going to explore all the state parks in my area and go hiking/walking every weekend. I have yet to do this. Mostly because I seem to forget how sweltering the humidity can be in Iowa.

Woodworking: I love the idea of being able to provide for myself in some capacity and create useful items. I studied social sciences in college, but if I could go back and do it over, I might lean toward something more mechanical – something that would give me a real tangible skill set. I like the idea of woodworking, but it seems really expensive to start doing. All the “beginner” tutorials I’ve found on YouTube involve a lot of expensive-looking machines with sharp blades and spinny parts. Plus why is wood itself so expensive??? Maybe you’re supposed to cut down your own tree.

Welding: Same as woodworking, but with fire!

FIRE!

Gardening: I’ve created a garden at every apartment where it was possible. The issue is not starting the garden, it’s finishing the garden. I’m always deterred by the weeding and maintenance and my vegetables become way overgrown. On the plus side, it usually means that I end up finding at least one monstrous Frankenstein-sized cucumber that was never picked. Those are fun.

Photography: I’ve already covered this in another post, but I took 6 years of traditional photography in high school (where I learned nothing about actual photo composition) and a night class through the local community college. I still have no idea how to operate my camera.

Flute/Piccolo: I inherited my grandmother’s flute and piccolo when she passed away and they are gorgeous. Music was a major part of my childhood and it makes me sad that I don’t currently have anything musical to be a part of. I did take a few months of lessons and enjoyed it, but then I started traveling for work, which makes practicing regularly impossible. It’s going to happen! Someday…

Cooking: I know how to cook, but I don’t. But I should.

My kind of cooking. Simple, yet effective. Also, fire!

Cleaning: I realize this isn’t really a hobby but as long as I’m motivating myself to do things I never do, this might as well be on the list.

Book Club: This one is already happening! I hope. I love reading and never do it, so hopefully peer pressure can get my reading skills back in shape.

Baking/Icing/Gingerbread House Decorator: I like baking, but what I REALLY like is icing. I love all the cute little designs you see on Pinterest and Buzzfeed articles and I want to be able to do that. I just don’t want thousands of baked goods lying around my house because I will eat them all.

Even this is probably too complicated for my current skill set.

Sewing: I bought a sewing machine this past summer. I have yet to turn it on.

Quilting: Adam received an email recently regarding the Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild’s monthly newsletter. Basically a bunch of sweet little old ladies sent him quilting news. It was obviously an incorrect email address, but he emailed them to say they had the wrong address and they ended up asking him if wanted to learn to quilt. This story has nothing to do with why I want to try quilting – I just thought it was uber-adorable

Coding: I’ve taught myself some basic HTML from YouTube videos in the past but never practiced enough to retain it. It would certainly be helpful in setting up this whole blog thingy.

So that should probably keep me occupied for awhile. We’ll just have to see how strong my follow-through game is! (By the way, if anyone has any suggestions for hobbies I can try that aren’t mentioned here, Please leave a comment. I’d love to hear your ideas!)

Meet Sophie

Join me as I take on the challenge of figuring out what I like to do – the reason to be excited about coming home from work. The next time a new acquaintance asks me what I like to do in my free time, I won’t have to pretend to be an interesting person – I’ll actually be one!

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